USA trip

Clonmel1000

Planning to head to US next September for about 2 weeks. Was looking for some advice on an itinerary please. Will be in New York for 5 nights have no flexibility on this. Hoping then to fly to Vegas for 3 nights 2 nights in San Francisco and finishing up with 4 nights at a beach resort like Santa Monica. Would be really interested to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks

InTheTrees

Sounds good.

For california will you be driving? Part of the attraction of the west is the scenery outside the cities. The drive between SF and LA for instance is spectacular. And being in LA without a car can be severely restricting.

I wouldnt really call Santa Monica a "beach resort" either. Its really a neighbourhood of LA with a beach. Nothing wrong with that though, its one of the best places to stay for visiting LA, just dont expect a Mediterranean city kind of beach.

eire4

I took a trip to California a few years ago and enjoyed Northern California the most. I liked San Francisco. The highlight was a day trip to a national park near there to see the red woods.
A little side trip I took was to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz. That was a great laugh and something a little different. Santa Barbara was a nice town as well. For LA I stayed in Manhattan Beach which was nice although LA itself was so so. I had a car rental and as the poster above suggests some of the driving is part of the trips charm. The Pacific Coast Highway has some beautiful stop off spots and views along the way.

InTheTrees

eire4 wrote: »

I took a trip to California a few years ago and enjoyed Northern California the most. I liked San Francisco. The highlight was a day trip to a national park near there to see the red woods.
A little side trip I took was to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz. That was a great laugh and something a little different.

I used to live in Santa Cruz so I know the mystery spot.

Definatly worth a visit. There some great redwood forests around Santa Cruz too.

Clonmel1000

Thanks for the info guys. I won't be driving simply to save on time. Would we better spending more time in one or the other of the cities. New York is non negotiable we have to spend 5 days there not that we mind. We are then left with 10 days max to do Vegas San Fran and LA(Santa Monica). Really appreciate a heads up on this.

tricky D

I'd recommend spending less time in LA and more in San Francisco. LA isn't quite all it's cracked up to be imho, unless you're big into theme parks and studio tours, and most of it is totally missable/avoidable. SF is much easier to get around with plenty to see and do. Also defo do the Pacific Coastal Highway allowing an overnight stop off somewhere like Big Sur or San Simeon. It's covered in a good few threads around this forum and the Travel ones.

eire4

tricky D wrote: »

I'd recommend spending less time in LA and more in San Francisco. LA isn't quite all it's cracked up to be imho, unless you're big into theme parks and studio tours, and most of it is totally missable/avoidable. SF is much easier to get around with plenty to see and do. Also defo do the Pacific Coastal Highway allowing an overnight stop off somewhere like Big Sur or San Simeon. It's covered in a good few threads around this forum and the Travel ones.

I totally agree. Unless your into really expensive theme parks spend as little time as possible in LA and more time in San Francisco and driving the pacific coast highway. Las Vegas is somewhere in between. I have been there many times and will be again next March. Las Vegas is not my kind of place holiday wise but if you have never been there you have to give yourself a couple of days there as it has to be seen to be believed. Especially walking the strip at night.

Clonmel1000

So 5 nights in New York, 2 in Vegas, 3 in San Fran and the remainder travelling down to LA via Highway 1 seems a good trip? is there anything else we should know about? My oh was looking at the 5 nights in New York and then maybe heading to Memphis, New Orleans and the South? I think the original trip is probably better, it will be our first trip to the states. Both mid 40s.

eire4

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

So 5 nights in New York, 2 in Vegas, 3 in San Fran and the remainder travelling down to LA via Highway 1 seems a good trip? is there anything else we should know about? My oh was looking at the 5 nights in New York and then maybe heading to Memphis, New Orleans and the South? I think the original trip is probably better, it will be our first trip to the states. Both mid 40s.

I will say this about the other places you mentioned. I have been to New Orleans recently actually over the new year last January and loved it. A very different city from what you expect in the US. I stayed in a hotel a block off the main party drag around burbon street. You would be amazed at how strong an Irish influence there is in the city. I didn't know until my trip last January but after New York more Irish emigrants of the last and 19th century entered through New Orleans then any other US city.
I visited one of their famous cemetaries and it was very moving reading the gravestones of so many Irish all detailing where and when in Ireland they were born.

The split you have of your days up above seems like a good split to me and the way I would go.

SanfranCal

Your itinerary sounds OK, with the exception of 4 nights in Southern California.

I would take those four extra nights and add one more to your San Francisco leg and
three nights to Monterey/Carmel.

Once you get to San Francisco, I would have two hubs/hotel stops.

Three or four nights in San Francisco (Hub 1).
Three or four nights in Monterey/Carmel (Hub 2).

For SF, here are some ideas:
Day 1 - walking around Union Square, Chinatown, the city, etc.

Day 2 - Drive north of SF, over the Golden Gate Bridge, to Muir Woods.

Day 3 - Visit Golden Gate Park, beautiful grounds, DeYoung Museum (with tower on
9th Floor to overlook the city), Arboretum, Hall of Flowers, etc.

Day 4 - Cable car rides in SF to experience the hills of SF, see Pier 39, Fishermen's Wharf (the touristy stuff).

Then on to Monterey/Carmel -- a beautiful, beautiful drive south on Highway 1.

For Monterey/Carmel, here are some ideas:

Day 1 - Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium -- world-acclaimed. I think Hewlett as in Hewlett-Parkard Computers (H-P) has donated a lot to this Aquarium. Also, walk John Steinbeck's Cannery Row., etc.
Day 2 - Visit Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf, very beautiful with all the boats, do the 17-Mile Drive for beautiful scenery, drive along Pacific Ocean in Pacific Grove, etc.

Day 3 - Visit Carmel. A charming little city to walk around. I think Ocean Avenue is the
main drag, but all of the many side streets are loaded with galleries, etc. Drive to beach Carmel Beach. Clint Eastwood was the mayor of Carmel.

Day 4 - Drive south to Big Sur or as far south as you care to drive. It is magnificently beautiful.

To get a sense of distance, your drive from San Francisco to Monterey/Carmel is about 150 miles or about 3.5/4 hours. Once you are about 40 minutes out of San Francisco and on the coast (Highway 1), the ride is beautiful. It would be a shame for you to miss this.

There are many small coastal towns between SF and Monterey where you could stop to
eat, take a break, walk around. I could post more on this if you were interested.
In other words, you day from SF to Monterey could be an outing in and of itself...easily.

Keep in mind that Monterey has a airport, and I notice that they have flights going back
to San Francisco Airport.

Also, another idea for SF is to stay closer to the San Francisco Airport. A bit of trivia for you that many people do not know is that the San Francisco Airport is not in the City of San Francisco nor is it in the County of San Francisco. It is in the County of San Mateo. This may not be the greatest suggestion, but there are hotels out there that have courtesy shuttles to the airport. Also, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit Train) is a the airport and this could be a way of getting into downtown San Francisco. I think they are now in the process of expanding the BART into Chinatown, which is close to Union Square.

I hope I have not totally confused you by including all this extra.

Esel

From Las Vegas, take a tour to the Grand Canyon.

From San Francisco, take a tour to Yosemite National Park.

Also from San Francisco, fly to San Diego, and visit the Wildlife Park there. Take the train ride around the park. It's the closest you can get to Africa, without going there.

Do not book into any hotel which is close to either a train station or a bus station. Think Busaras/Connolly environs multiplied by 100...

InTheTrees

I'm confused now, were you driving or not?

A good route is Fly into Las Vegas, drive to LA, then drive up the coast to SF and fly home from there.

The only complication can be if there's a hefty extra charge for rentaing a car in Nevada and returning it in california. Some companies allow it and some dont so it needs to be checked.

InTheTrees

Clonmel1000 wrote: »

So 5 nights in New York, 2 in Vegas, 3 in San Fran and the remainder travelling down to LA via Highway 1 seems a good trip? is there anything else we should know about? My oh was looking at the 5 nights in New York and then maybe heading to Memphis, New Orleans and the South? I think the original trip is probably better, it will be our first trip to the states. Both mid 40s.

For a first trip to the USA, the Las Vegas > LA > SF is pretty perfect.

I agree with Eire4 that new Orleans is an amazing city, certainly one of my favourite US cities. Very unlike any other US cities. Amazing music, and food, and people.

But for a first US trip I'd still recommend the west coast.

tipper1

I'm really interested in this thread as my wife and I are thinking of something similar, fly drive.
The posts here have been great so I'm hoping they might help me.
We've been to Las Vegas and not too worried about LA although we'd consider a quick look.
We have 14days and want to visit San Francisco, Yosemite but also Nashville which could bring in New Orleans.
How achievable is this in 14days.
I've also heard a recommendation to drive from San Fran down south so that you're driving on the coast-side of the motorway. Is this hugely beneficial.

Bayberry

tipper1 wrote: »

I'm really interested in this thread as my wife and I are thinking of something similar, fly drive.
The posts here have been great so I'm hoping they might help me.
We've been to Las Vegas and not too worried about LA although we'd consider a quick look.
We have 14days and want to visit San Francisco, Yosemite but also Nashville which could bring in New Orleans.
How achievable is this in 14days.
I've also heard a recommendation to drive from San Fran down south so that you're driving on the coast-side of the motorway. Is this hugely beneficial.

I'd be inclined to do the west coast part of your trip, and then fly to the south-east to do the other half. If you were thinking of driving from Yosemite to Nashville you'd want considerably more than 14 days to do the trip justice.

InTheTrees

tipper1 wrote: »

I've also heard a recommendation to drive from San Fran down south so that you're driving on the coast-side of the motorway. Is this hugely beneficial.

As a driver I've always preferred to be on the inside lane which means going northbound. Much less stress with those cliffs.

Possibly better view on the outside lane, i've done it enough back and forth.

Be aware of the coastal fog, which is lot more intense in the mornings before it burns off in the heat of the day.

tricky D

Just a few recommendations on doing the PCH:

Only drive during daylight for safety and scenery.
Use SatNav as it's easy enough to miss a turn off onto HWY1.
Obey the speed limits; some of the bends really do need slowing down to 15mph.
Allow for a 30 minute delay for contraflows at construction areas.
If you plan on visiting Hearst Castle near San Simeon, book in advance and work out your timings accordingly.

jd

Did route 1 ten years ago.
Dug these suggestions up from an old email

Thurs Nite - Madonna Inn**. - San Luis Obisbo (I think?)
Friday morning - Hearst Castle**
Friday Afternoon - Drive Big Sur (Hit some parks/beach & Point Lobos just South of Carmel)
Friday Nite - Monterey or Carmel or maybe Big Sur**
Sat morning - Monterey Aquarium
Sat afternoon - drive route 1 to SF (stop at Moss Landing just N of Monterey to kayak with sea otters in estuary).
See elephant seals at Ano Nuevo just N of Santa Cruz. Not high season for fighten & shaggin but you still should see them.
Maybe stop for Artichoke Soup in Duartes in Pescadero just S of Half Moon Bay.
Arr SF by early Sat evening.

InTheTrees

Stop at the restaurant called Nepenthe. Absolutely beautiful views.

Built by Orson Welles and Rita Heyworth, as a getaway spot. Its a really nice place to stop.

https://goo.gl/maps/z4Jpa